Category Archives: Apostles

JUDAISM AND CATHOLICISM – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Apostles, Church, Community, Conversion, Early Church Fathers, Family, How to be Catholic, Jewish roots, Prayer, Relationships, Religious Life, Scripture, Spirituality, The Holy Land, Tradition

Most people do not think about it, but our Christian/Catholic faith grew out of Judaism and continues many of the same values and worship. I have grown to see this in so many ways. I was very fortunate to have contact with Judaism while in High School. My first job was at a local clothing store owned by Abe Brown, a practicing Jewish man. I started there when I was just 16 doing mostly menial work. As I came to know Abe, and his family, I saw the faith that they shared as a close knit Jewish family. Abe was always so kind to me and treated me with great respect. That impressed me. I worked my way up to being a sales person. He gave me so many positive values.

Several years later, I also was fortunate to find a great Jewish family who helped my wife and me out while I was newly married and in the service. I had just moved to a new assignment at Fort Hood, Texas and had only thirty two dollars in my pocket and no where to stay. The Army base housing unit put me in contact with Abe Weiss, a good Jewish man who owned a local clothing store. I was impressed by the similarity to my situation in my home town. Mr. Weiss owned some apartments and had one available in about 10 days. We hit it off very well and I told him that I was not sure what to do as I had only thirty two dollars to my name, and no where to stay until then. He told me that he had a spare bedroom in his house and invited my wife and me to stay there until the apartment was available. He also told me that we could join him and his family for his meals. Not only that, but he called the Red Cross and arranged for them to give me sixty dollars so that I could have some spending money. I thought to myself, what a good Christian thing for this Jewish man to do. I later found out that helping others was a very Jewish thing to do, a mitzvah, and Christians learned it from them. His hospitality inspired my wife and me to, several times, open our homes to those who were in need and crossed out path.

Recently, I had a person who I knew from the YMCA gym tell me about a dire situation that he was in. He was 40 years old, between jobs, and living in a very unpleasant, and possibly harmful situation. He didn’t have the money to get his own place, and seemed stuck in this bad housing that he was in. I prayed about it and felt the Lord tell me to invite him to live in one of the spare bedrooms that I had. He took me up on that and it has worked out very well for both of us. His mother told me that it probably saved his life and that she was so relieved by it. This man was Jewish by birth and choice, and had lived on a kibbutz in Israel to strengthen his faith. He is quite proud of his Judaism and has also embraced Jesus as the Messiah. I guess you could call him a Jewish-Christian. He says his Jewish prayers from his Sefer and also says Christian prayers, I have learned a great deal from him about Judaism. He is very intelligent and knows how to read and speak Hebrew. He asked if he could pray, out loud, his Jewish prayers (see picture) in my home and I told him that he could. I pray the Catholic Liturgy of the Hours and invited him to do so with me. He downloaded the free app IBREVIARY and we pray morning and evening prayers TOGETHER and he also prays his Jewish prayers. We also sometimes pray the long Office of Readings together. It is a marvelous time for both of us.

A few years ago I made friends with the Jewish Rabbi who headed the reformed synagogue in Patchogue. Recently he was transferring out of state and invited me to come to his last Shabbat service. Of course I brought my new housemate and we prayed there for 3 hours. It was beautiful. My friend hit it off well with the Rabbi, both spoke Hebrew, and the Rabbi asked him to read from the sacred scriptures. He was so thrilled. The Rabbi asked me to offer a prayer. It was a great time. I was so impressed by the reverence that was shown to the Torah, the sacred scriptures. I felt God’s presence there in such a real way. I had done many Inter-Faith services in that synagogue and felt the holiness there, but this time, being present with the Jewish liturgy, made me feel the holiness even more.

When you think about Christianity, it rose out of Judaism. Jesus, and His twelve apostles were all Jews and lived out the Jewish faith. The Christian scriptures (the New Testament) tell us about how the early Christians would go to their own homes for the “breaking of the bread” (the Eucharist) but go to the temple for the prayers. Those Jewish prayers evolved in to the Liturgy of the Hours that Bodhi and I pray together every day. There is no doubt that Christianity and Judaism share deep historical and theological roots. Even the Catholic mass has many parts that relate back to the Jewish passover liturgy. We both share the same Old Testament and we both pray daily prayers using the psalms. We both place a high value on TRADITION and the importance of communal prayers and of doing good deeds. I can’t help but to think of another good deed, or mitzva, that another good Jewish friend of mine did. He and I grew up in the same town and went to the same High School and knew each other, but really developed our present friendship through Facebook. We share many of the same values. He loves his Judaism, and I love my Christianity. A few years ago I was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick’s day parade in my village. Without telling me, he came from out of state to celebrate with me. His mitzva in doing that meant so much to me.

As much as there is similarity between Judaism and Christianity, there are differences. It is important to recognize those and respect each other. In the Vatican II council, the Catholic church recognized that the Covenant that God made with the Jewish people is a very real and STILL existant part of His plan. Even though many Protestant religions feel the need to evangelize the Jews and make them Christians, Catholics do not do this. I think that it is import for us to celebrate both are similarity, and our difference. God chose the Jewish people as the “apple of God’s eye”. Christianity arose from Judaism and we both recognize ONE GOD and see Abraham as our father of faith. We both live by the ten commandments and the need to treat our neighbor well, and help meet his needs. We both look forward to the end of time where God will make all things new and redeemed. God is good.

THE TWELVE DISCIPLES, WE ARE AN APOSTOLIC CHURCH – by Deacon Marty McIndoe

Apologetics, Apostles, Church, Community, Consecration, Conversion, Crucifixion, Death and Dying, Early Church Fathers, Evangelism, Forgiveness, Holiness, Holy Orders, Holy Spirit, Holy Week, Jewish roots, Martyrs, Penance and Reconciliation, Preaching, Priesthood, Relics, Resurrection, Saints, Scripture, Spirituality, Suffering, The Holy Land, Tradition

The Apostles are central to our faith. They are the 12 who accompanied Jesus and who Jesus decided to name Apostles (In Greek it means, one sent on a mission). Even though Jesus had many disciples or followers He personally chose these 12 to make “chief” disciples. These 12 were entrusted with not only spreading the Good News, but also in building the Church. Here is a look at these 12, where they came from, what they are noted for and where their bodies are now. Note that in some instances their bodies were separated and sent in to separate locations.

1 – Saint Peter, originally known as Simon Peter and Simon son of Jonah, and also Cephas, was a native of Bethsaida, near Lake Tiberius. He was a fisherman who Jesus made the leader of the twelve, and thus the Church’s first pope. Even though he was called, “ye of little faith” and denied Jesus three times, he was the man Jesus chose to lead the Church. He was the first that Jesus came to after the Resurrection. Peter spread the good news and ruled over the early Church. He was martyred in the year 64 in Rome. It is said that he died on a cross that was upside down. He is buried directly under the altar at St. Peter’s in Rome. His feast day in June 29th.

2 – Saint James the Greater is the brother of Saint John. He is known as “the greater” to distinguish himself from St. James the Less who was considerably shorter than St. James the Greater.. He is known for his missionary journeys which led him to Spain. After his missionary journeys, he returned to Jerusalem and he was martyred there in the year 44 by Herod by decapitation. He was the first Apostle to be martyred. James’ body was taken to Spain and can now be found in the Cathedral of Santiago in Spain. His feast day is July 25th.

3 – Saint John, was also known as the beloved disciple, John the Evangelist and John of Patmos. He was the longest living disciple, and only one not to die a martyr’s death. He was also the disciple that Jesus chose to take care of His mother, Mary, after His own death. John was the only disciple not to forsake Jesus at the time of His Crucifixion. John stood at the foot of the cross. Sometime after the Assumption of Mary, John was arrested and taken to the Roman Coliseum and thrown in to a vat of boiling oil in front of thousands of people. He was unharmed by the boiling oil and it was said that this converted many in the coliseum that day. The emporer Domition, was angered by this and banished St. John to the island of Patmos. Here John wrote the book of Revelation. He was buried in the Basillica of St John, in Ephesus. His feast day is December 27th.

4 – St. James the Lesser was often called the “brother of the Lord” because his mother was a relative of Mary. He was also known as John the Just. He served as the first Bishop of Jerusalem and was martyred there in 62. His body is found in the Basilica of the Apostles in Rome. His feast day is May 3rd.

5 – St. Andrew was a fisherman and the brother of St.Peter. The Gospel of John tells us that he was a disciple of John the Baptist. He was known for sharing the Good News all around Greece, Turkey, and the Black Sea. He was crucified on an X shaped cross in the mid to late 1st century. His body was originally buried in Patras, Greece but was later moved to the Cathedral in Amalfi. It appears that some of his bones were brought to Scotland and are now in St. Mary’s in Edinburgh. The Scottish flag actually has on it the X cross of St. Andrew. His feast day is November 30th.

6 – St. Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel, was a native of Cana in Galilee and was introduced to Jesus by Philip. Jesus said that he was a true Israelite in whom there is no guile. After the Ascension of Jesus, Bartholomew was a missionary going as far as India and Armenia. He died around 71 in Armenia after being beaten, skinned and finally having his head cut off. His remains are in the Basilica of Benevento in Italy and in the Basilica of St. Bartholomew in Rome. His feast day is August 24th.

7 – St. Jude Thaddeus, was a relative of Jesus and came from Galilee. He is best known for being the patron of lost causes. He died in 65 in Persia/Syria by being clubbed and/or axed to death. His remains are in St. Peter’s in Rome, The National Cathedral of St. Jude in Chicago, Ill and the Cathedral of Reims in France. His feast day is October 28th.

8 – St, Matthew, also known as Levi, was originally a tax collector, disciple of Jesus and then the author of the gospel of his name. He was from Capernaum. His conversion from being a tax collector to follower of Jesus is quite remarkable. He left a prosperous, albeit hated, profession to join a group of disciples who had a hard time accepting him at first. After the Ascension, Matthew is noted for traveling, and evangelizing, especially to the jews. He was martyred in Ethiopia somewhere in the 60’s by being killed with a sword while saying mass. His murder was ordered by King Hirtacus after Matthew opposed the king’s lusting after a nun. His remains are in Salerno Cathedral in Italy. His feast day is September 21st.

9 – St. Philip was brother to St. Peter and St. Andrew and originally was a fisherman from Bethsaida. Although there is some historical confusion on traditions between St. Philip the Apostle, and St. Philip the deacon (both lived about the same time), it is believed that St. Philip the Apostle was crucified by soldiers in Hieropolis, Turkey in the year 80. His remains are are buried in the Church of the Dodici, Rome, Italy. His feast day is May 3rd

10 – St.Thomas was born in Galilee and is often known as doubting Thomas due to his saying that he wouldn’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus unless he saw Him and placed his finger in to the nail holes and spear hole of Jesus. In actuality, other parts of the bible show him to be quite a courageous follower of Jesus. He spread the Good News as far as India and was martyred there by spear. His remains are buried in St. Thomas Cathedral, Mylapore, India. His feast day is July 3rd.

11 – St. Simon was also known as Simon the Zealot or Simon the Cananean. He spread the Good News in Egypt and Persia, often accompanied by St. Jude. He died in the year 107 in Jordan by being sawed in half. His remains are buried at the altar of the Crucifixion in the Vatican, Rome. His feast day is October 28th.

12 – Judas Iscariot was born July 3rd in Kerioth, Israel. He was the disciple who betrayed Jesus and known to be a person who took money from the disciple’s treasury. After betraying Jesus, he was upset and went back to the Jewish leaders who has given him the 30 coins to betray Jesus. He tried to give them back the silver coins and they would not take them, so he threw them on the floor. The Jewish leaders considered that “blood money” and used it to buy a cemetery for the poor, the Field of Blood. Judas Iscariot was buried in that field. There is no feast day for Judas Iscariot.

13 – St. Matthias was chosen by the disciples to replace Judas Iscariot. His name means “gift of Yahweh”. Although he was not one of the original 12, he was present with them during the ministry of Jesus. It is said that he preached the Good News in Judea and in Ethiopia. It is also said that he was crucified in what is modern day Georgia around the year 80 and his remains are in St. Mathias Abbey, Trier, Germany. His feast day is May 14th.

14 – St. Paul, was not one of the 12 Apostles, but his work as a missionary and early church leader makes me want to add him to this list He was born Saul of Tarsus (in Turkey).. St. Paul may have never met Jesus before the Resurrection but Jesus did appear to him after the Resurrection and made him in to one of the best evangelists the Church has ever seen. Paul started out as a persecutor of Jesus, and His Way but ended up one of the best supporters and spreader of the faith. If any conversion in history can show the power of God, this one can. St. Paul was known for his many travels around the world of the Mediterranean. He settled in Rome and was martyred there in 64. Since he was a Roman Citizen, he was not crucified, but was beheaded. St. Paul is buried in the Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. His feast day in June 29th.

I think it is intersting that al of the 12 disciples have their remains inside Catholic Churches. We are truly an Apostolic Church.